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Tuesday, January 26 2010
The prophet Daniel was among the earlier people of Judah who were taken away to exile in Babylon (see The Southern Kingdom) during the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah (although Daniel was not yet functioning as a prophet, the prophet Jeremiah certainly was - Jeremiah warned Jehoiakim, and his successors Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, what would happen; see Jeremiah In Court and Jeremiah's Field; also Kings of Israel and Judah).
"1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 1:2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god." (Daniel 1:1-2 KJV)"1:6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 1:7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego." (Daniel 1:6-7 KJV)
Daniel was fortunate to be taken earlier. The later event was more of a wrathful slaughter than a capture - because they refused the greater warnings from the LORD.
"36:15 And the LORD God of their fathers [i.e. Jesus Christ - see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM'] sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 36:17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary [see also Raiders Of The Lost Ark], and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand." (2 Chronicles 36:15-17 KJV)
"The king made Daniel a great man ... and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the governors"
With the LORD's help, because he was in the LORD's service, Daniel rose to a position of great influence and power in Babylon. As happened with the patriarch Joseph in Egypt (see The Israelite Patriarchs - Joseph), Daniel went from prisoner to Prime Minister, second only to the king, because of the LORD's having given the king a prophetic dream, that Daniel was then given by the LORD to interpret.
"2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." (Daniel 2:31-45 KJV)
Nebuchadnezzar knew that Daniel had the power to truly interpret because Nebuchadnezzar hadn't even told Daniel, or anyone else, what the dream was (Daniel 2:5-6). Daniel first told the king what only the king knew, and then the meaning.
"2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Daniel 2:46-49 KJV)
Fact Finder: How much of the prophetic dream that the LORD gave Daniel to interpret for Nebuchadnezzar has been fulfilled up to now? What part involves the return of Jesus Christ?
See Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
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This Day In History, January 26
66: The comet later known in the modern day as Halley's Comet (named after English astronomer Edmond Halley, 1656-1742) made its fifth perihelion (the point of an orbit that an object is closest to the sun) transit on record.
1340: England's King Edward III was proclaimed king of France.
1500: Spanish explorer Vicente Pinzon discovered Brazil (for Europeans, that is; as was the case for all "new world" discoveries, the native people who were already there needed no "discovery").
1531: A powerful earthquake killed 30,000 people near Lisbon, Portugal.
1564: Church of Rome Pope Pius IV issued his Benedictus Deus at the Council of Trent. Included in the decree was an Index of Prohibited Books, a listing of unapproved authors and their publications.
1699: The Peace of Karlowitz ended the war between Turkey and Austria.
1788: The first settlers from England, including a group of exiled convicts, arrived at Sydney, Australia.
1837: Michigan was admitted as the 26th state of the U.S.A. (the United States of America, not the United States is America - there are numerous sovereign nations in North and South America e.g. Canadians and Brazilians are "Americans" too).
1841: A few days after China conceded the island to Britain, the British flag was raised on Hong Kong.
1875: The electric-powered dental drill was patented by George Green.
1891: German engineer Nikolaus Otto died. He was a prime developer of the four-stroke internal combustion engine that was to power the "auto"mobile.
1893: Abner Doubleday died at age 74. He is credited by some authorities as having been the inventor of baseball.
1905: The world's largest diamond, weighing over 3,106 carats, was discovered near Pretoria, South Africa. It became known as the Cullinan diamond.
1924: The Russian city of Petrograd was renamed Leningrad.
1926: Television was first publicly demonstrated.
1934: Germany signed a 10-year non-aggression pact with Poland. It ended with the German invasion of Poland a little over 5 years later (in September of 1939) which began the Second World War.
1950: India became an independent republic with Jawarhalal Nehru as prime minister.
1980: Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations.
